Lady ’Cats Rip Past Bourbon

Union's Anna Houston grabs a rebound during the Lady 'Cats win over Bourbon.

Returning home proved to be just what the Union basketball Lady ’Cats needed.

Union (2-4) rolled past Bourbon Thursday night, 54-21.

“It was a very good win,” Union Head Coach Dusty Weiskopf said. “We had back-to-back losses Monday against Northwest and Tuesday against Eldon. We probably should have won against Northwest and we played two really good quarters against Eldon. I told the girls to just come out and play and they did. We’re going to lose some and win some, but I just want to see some effort. I thought we played really well tonight and did some good things.”

The win came two days after the Lady ’Cats struggled in the second half in a 49-29 loss at Eldon, scoring just eight points in the second half.

Bourbon

Scoring early and often, and from a balanced group, proved to the correct path for victory Thursday night at home.

Union received scoring from nine different players while rolling to a 20-5 lead after one quarter, a 29-7 advantage at the half and a 49-16 lead after three quarters.

“We can’t win games with just Bri (Clark) scoring,” Weiskopf said. “It’s enjoyable watching her score 32 points a game, but for us to be successful, we’re going to have to have more help. We’ve been working on a lot of things. It’s a process. It’s slowly coming together.”

Three of those players hit double digits.

Sharing the scoring lead were Clark, a junior, and senior Megan Altemueller. Each scored 11 points.

Clark did scored nine of her points in the first and third quarters. Altemueller was Union’s only player to score in all four quarters.

“I challenged them tonight to play four quarters,” Weiskopf said. “We have not played four quarters all year long. If we play four quarters, we give ourselves a chance.”

Alyssa Hammack led Bourbon with seven points, all scored in the second half.

Tessa Starbeck netted five points in the first quarter. Kendra Farris ended with four points. Emmy Byrd and Bri Flowers each had two points and Gabby Ramirez added one point.

Eldon

It was a tale of two halves for the Union Lady ’Cats Tuesday night in Eldon.

Union led 21-19 after one half, but managed just eight points through the final 16 minutes in a 49-29 loss.

“We played a great first half, and were leading, 21-19,” Weiskopf said. “In the second half, we imploded. On our first 10 possessions, we turned the ball over nine times and dug a hole that we could not get out of.”

Weiskopf credited Eldon with making adjustments to come back.

“They have a strong team and they played very well,” Weiskopf said.

“Once we find a way to put four quarters together we will be a much better team,” said Weiskopf. “Our girls understand it’s a process and continue to get better every day.”

Clark led Union with nine points. Houston was next with eight while Jeffries scored six points. Altemueller and Kelly each scored three points.